Coalition of Franchisee Associations

April 27, 2011

McDonald's Skinner Sells $10-mil. in Shares




While his tenants spend their retirement nest eggs remodeling the McDonald's REIT

McDonald's Skinner sells $10-mil. in shares | Consumer | Crain's Chicago Business

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Starbucks Passes Burger King, Wendy's for No. 3 Spot


Thanks, in part, to McDonald's franchisee ad spending against espresso drinks

Starbucks Passes Burger King, Wendy's for No. 3 Spot | News - Advertising Age

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Preparing for Inflation - A Forbes Blog Network


"Inflation is a completely new experience to many current business owners, as we have not had high rates of inflation in almost 30 years. Watch your margins carefully. Worry about growing profits, not just your sales."

Preparing for Inflation - The Entrepreneurial Mind

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April 23, 2011

Seismic Shift in Franchisees Seeking Balance


"Franchisees also want audited disclosures on vendor kickbacks. Kickbacks from a vendor to a franchisor can significantly raise the price of goods to franchisees, and they are typically undisclosed. They act as a hidden royalty fee."


Seismic Shift in Franchisees Seeking Balance | BlueMauMau

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April 21, 2011

Could Some Bankrupt BKs Get Golden Arches?


The Restaurant Finance Monitor

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MCD Execs Sacrifice Operator Margins For Traffic


"We are willing to invest margin in the short term to continue to grow our business
for the long-term," McDonald's Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen said Thursday
on a conference call.

Some one should tell Pete that the franchisees set the menu prices, or do they?
Easy for him to spout off since there are far fewer McOpCos.


On menu pricing - I keep hearing that McDonald's regional bureaucrats are
urging Operators to "not repeat the mistakes of 2008". Apparently the Operator
is then supposed to hang their head and feel guilty about being opportunistic the
last time we had food inflation.

But this is the usual revisionist history, or a sign of high turnover in the McDonald's
executive ranks. The truth is that 2008 saw some back door increases but that
was also the middle year of three annual Federal minimum wage increases, along
with many state minimums.

I submit raising the minimum wage from $5.15 in June 2007 to $6.55 in July 2008
was the cause of menu price increases far more than food inflation (or greedy
franchisees).

So you might educate the corporate types HERE'S a link to the D.O.L. history :

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McDonald's Raises Food Inflation Predictions


It said it now expects food costs to rise between 4 and 4.5 percent in the United States and Europe this year. In January, McDonald's said it expected its food costs to rise 2 percent to 2.5 percent this year in the United States.


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April 20, 2011

GOLDSTEIN LAW GROUP - National Franchise Law


In this 15 min. video attorney Jeff Goldstein pitches his law firm but
also provides an interesting update on the state of franchise law in
the USA. Worth a watch for any franchisee.

YouTube - Jeff Goldstein GOLDSTEIN LAW GROUP Nat'l Franchise Law

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April 14, 2011

30 Year Low in Americans Working?


"The share of the population that is working fell to its lowest level last year since women started entering the workforce in large numbers three decades ago"


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McDonald's LatAm Franchisee Rises 26 Percent


At least one McDonald's franchisee is building equity!

McDonald's LatAm franchisee rises 26 percent in debut | Reuters

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April 12, 2011

World's Largest McDonald's Franchisee


"With 6.7 percent of franchised stores, Arcos is the largest operator in which McDonald’s has no equity stake."

Bloomberg reports HERE

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April 8, 2011

Redeye's Gutfeld Takes on Portly Pol


Over NYC Happy Meal ban:

Gutfeld: Portly Pol Tells Us How to Eat - FOXNews.com

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Burger King Pulls Plug on Redesign





Burger King CEO John Chidsey announced a grandiose plan to remodel all 12,000+ Burger Kings worldwide to the slick “20/20” design, which he called “contemporary, edgy, futuristic.” Franchisees called it expensive.


Burger King Pulls Plug on Expensive, Futuristic Redesign | βurgerβusiness

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